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December 28, 2007

Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there...

...with open arms and open eyes...

I still have yesterday's song in my head. It's a good one, and an ear worm apparently. Yesterday's song, "Drive" by Incubus, has been kind of inspiring to me lately, as we enter upon the closing of the year and I have had so many ups and downs professionally lately. It helps me to remember not to let fear drive me and stop me. There are many types of fear, and I do find myself immobilized by some of them at times. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, and fear of looking like a fool are fears that hold me back sometimes professionally. I also have a fear of authority and a fear of crowds personally... those are a little deeper and harder to get past. I think I am doing better in the last few years and the last few months in pushing past these fears and overcoming them, or at least speaking out against them or admitting to them, aloud. Sometimes the admission is the biggest thing, and that simple yet difficult act is the thing that puts me back in the control, back in the driver's seat, if you will...

More snacks? I couldn't possibly...oh, but you did bake them...I guess I should be polite and try a little...Num Num Num. We have one last get together tonight, and I gotta tell you, I am getting a little bloated feeling from all the delicious holiday foods and so many social events. After tonight, I look forward to staying in for a while, working and eating salads and rice. Maybe purging my Snack Charm collection will help me feel healthier...I just listed a bunch of Snack Charm sets in my Etsy Shop

We had a good time last night in Ann Arbor. Dinner was great and the small group of artists were great to chat with. It was great to see them all, we hadn't seen any of them since last year (at least I didn't....maybe Chuck had). Our favorite Japanese snack and anime shop was closed which was a bummer, but we all ventured out to Vault of Midnight and looked at the graphic novels and comics and vinyl toys. My brother did drive and while the way there was fun and uneventful (except for me kicking butt on the pop music trivia game we played while driving) the ride home was met with a detour. A typical Detroit Detour, in fact, which takes you about a half hour out of your way on several freeways in order to get you about 3 miles from where you wanted to be when the detour started. Just Lovely.

Ok, I promised I would keep this secret until after Christmas, but I wanted to share what I made for my friend. It's after Christmas now, so I hope I am not spoiling anything. Above is the bracelet commissioned to me to do for a friend's wife for Christmas. It took me way too long and our poor friend had to deal with me as flaky artist as I struggled to find time to work on it. I got it out in the mail in the nick of time and he got it by Christmas, whew! It took a long time because I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted, but knew I wanted a bead/chain band of sorts. I started weaving in and out of the central chain and decided that was how I wanted it. The tricky parts were getting the tension right, and the length, as well as figuring out how to finish the ends. In the end, I love it, its really different for me, and I need to get the supplies to make another one that I can submit it somewhere. I also added a piece of chain so it could be a choker too. The box was something I sort of recycled...a fancy metal pen came in it but the bracelet fit perfectly, so I glued a filigree piece to it with another face on top. Extra fancy!